Denal was also involved in the discovery and destruction of a new Confederate superweapon—one that could prevent Republic radar from detecting enemy armies. Under the command of Skywalker, Denal participated in a Republic attack on the forces of the bounty hunterCad Bane above the planet Devaron. The Republic hoped to rescue the Jedi MasterBolla Ropal from Bane and retrieve two valuable items stolen by the bounty hunter—a Jedi holocron and the Kyber memory crystal, which contained information on every Force-sensitivechild in the galaxy. Denal was one of the clones who infiltrated Bane's Munificent-class star frigate, which slowly began to tear itself apart, having been set on the self-destruct mode by Bane. The Republic did not manage to rescue Master Ropal, whom Cad Bane had tortured to death. Aboard the frigate, Denal confronted the bounty hunter himself, but was killed by him. Bane donned Denal's armor in order to disguise himself as the clone trooper. Still in possession of the holocron and the Kyber crystal, the bounty hunter escaped from the crumbling starship with the Republic troops.

Infiltrating the station with JT-12 jetpacks,[9] Denal, Rex, Skywalker's PadawanAhsoka Tano, astromech droid R3-S6, and three clones soon separated from Skywalker, who ordered them to plant charges while he went in search of R2-D2. Denal and the others soon reached a door that was ray-shielded. Tano instructed R3-S6 to disable the shield, but the droid, who was in fact a Separatist spy, instead stalled them until battle droids arrived. Denal was first to hear them coming and warned his teammates. Denal suggested hot-wiring the door, but R3's seeming ineptitude blocked it.[5]

The group was outnumbered, yet were able to use EMP grenades to disable the battle droids. At this point, Grievous arrived and engaged them, quickly knocking Jedi Tano unconscious. He then killed three clones and stunned Rex and Denal. As the droid general was about to finish off the two clones, Tano recovered in time to block the attack. She then ran off, drawing Grievous after her and allowing Rex and Denal to set charges on the repulsorlift generator for the station. Later, in the landing hangar, the clones met with Skywalker, who managed to rescue R2 and call his ship, the Twilight. When they informed Skywalker of Ahsoka's actions, he ordered them to accompany him to assist his Padawan. But as they set off on a rescue, R3 appeared and sealed the hangar, revealing itself to them as a Separatist spy by activating several Vulture droids. A moment later, several B2 super battle droids arrived. Rex, Denal, Skywalker and the Twilightpilot hid behind several shipping crates and fired at the droids. Skywalker then ordered Rex to trigger the explosives just as Tano rejoined the group. Together, they destroyed all enemies, and with the help of R2, who opened hangar doors and destroyed R3, they escaped the doomed battlesphere aboard the Twilight.[5]

Superweapon

At one point during the war, rumors about a new Confederacy secret project in development somewhere in the Outer Rim led the Galactic Republic to send entire legions of clone troopers to the region in order to investigate. As part of a battalion of clones[11]—576 troops[12]—Denal was dispatched to the planet Rodia. While on Rodia, his battalion was ambushed and surrounded by overwhelming droid forces, after enemy artillery took out most of the Republic transports. Denal took charge of the battalion and ordered his men to call for reinforcements. However, they soon discovered that the droids had been jamming their signals, so Denal and his men sought to capture a commrelay station in order to contact the fleet. After successfully capturing it and defending against droid counter-attacks, Denal and his battalion managed to contact the fleet and escape to safety on a LAAT/i gunship.[11]

Soon, Denal was contacted by Captain Rex, who ordered him to make way for reinforcements by destroying all droids in a nearby jungle clearing. Denal quickly completed his objective, allowing the Republic to land additional forces on Rodia. He was then once again contacted by Rex with the order to destroy a transport factory. The factory could only be destroyed by hacking the console that triggered the self-destruct mechanism. Instead of using the shortest way to the console, Denal chose to go through the hidden path in the swamp, destroying an MTT with a grenade along the way. He then triggered the base's self-destruction mechanism and left with his squad on a LAAT/i. Following the completion of that mission, Denal was called to assist a lone Jedi in distress on the frozen world of Orto Plutonia. His squad helped the Jedi to defeat the droids and then evacuated him from the planet. Near the evacuation LAAT/i, they met Ahsoka Tano, who was sent by her Master to help the Jedi. Denal then participated in two subsequent missions on Orto Plutonia, involving the recovery of a lost Republic weapons shipment and the search for a missing LAAT/i and its crew. During these missions Denal grew suspicious of a large Separatist presence on Orto Plutonia and of droids that could somehow evade being detected by Republic radar.[11]

Denal's squad was next dispatched by Rex to Tatooine, to investigate a seemingly deserted Separatist base, which was in fact swarming with droids. After clearing the base of the hostiles, Denal grew suspicious, as he was informed by the scout team about the droid presence in the desert. After completing yet another mission there, Denal was told by Rex that the Republic had discovered another base deep in the desert, a hidden Confederacy research station, that was suspected to be related to the rumored new Confederacy project. Since the station was already in the process of evacuation, Denal was ordered to act quickly, before the enemy could destroy all evidence of the project. His suspicions finally proved true, Denal led his clones into the station, only to find a message from General Grievous, who claimed that the Republic would soon be finished, and to be attacked by a complement of droids, including a DSD1 dwarf spider droid.[11]

After downloading secret plans hidden inside the station, Denal and his men escaped the installation by calling a gunship with the enemy console, but not before disarming a bomb planted on it. The data retrieved from Tatooine revealed a new Separatist superweapon, capable of clouding entire armies from Republic radar. Denal was sent to investigate further on Rodia. He infiltrated the local Trade Federationbase and stole another set of data. Returning to Tatooine to investigate a small droid encampment, Denal received intelligence from High Jedi GeneralObi-Wan Kenobi about Tano being held in a Separatist prison. Once inside, Denal's troops again encountered the same Jedi they had rescued earlier on Orto Plutonia. The Jedi joined them in a quest to free Skywalker's Padawan. With his help, Denal was able to rescue Tano.[11]

It was then decided to steal the superweapon plans and attack the main Separatist headquarters. Denal was ordered by Rex to destroy several Confederacy bases that supplied the main base in order to weaken its defenses. Once again reuniting with the Jedi on Tatooine, Denal destroyed a construction yard that produced droid fighters, then infiltrated the research station on Orto Plutonia and stole the superweapon plans. Later, he destroyed a weapons factory on Rodia. Dropped behind enemy lines, Denal then reached the main Separatist base on Orto Plutonia, where the superweapon was being developed. After receiving some help from Tano, who cut a way through the ice with her lightsaber, Denal infiltrated the base and created a massive short-circuit in the superweapon's mainframe. A chain reaction began, bringing an end to the construction of the weapon. After he returned to the fleet, Denal was congratulated by General Kenobi, only to be sent by Rex to another mission soon thereafter.[11]

Skywalker informs Denal and Rex of his plan to infiltrate Cad Bane's frigate.

The Republic Venator-class Star Destroyers, however, were not equipped with any kind of boarding craft, so the Jedi planned to use the pressure-sealed and magnetic feet-equipped AT-TEwalkers in the assault on the enemy ship. Along with Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, R2-D2, Captain Rex and three brigades of clone troopers, Denal boarded one of the walkers, which were then dropped onto the dorsal hull of Bane's frigate. After a brief battle on the hull, the Republic forces infiltrated the frigate itself, though their relatively easy victory was due to the fact that Cad Bane did not send reinforcements, wanting to lure Skywalker and Tano inside the ship and force them to open the holocron; Ropal had refused to do so and had been tortured to death by the bounty hunter.[3]

The Jedi, Rex, Denal and the other clones quickly reached and secured the ship's bridge, although Bane had already fled to the other part of the vessel. Skywalker then ordered Rex to destroy all escape pods so that Bane could not escape with the holocron. At this moment, explosions started to tear the ship apart; Bane had initiated the self-destruct sequence. Although AdmiralWullf Yularen told the Republic troops to leave the doomed vessel, Skywalker refused and the strike team continued their mission, eventually finding Master Ropal's dead body, which was transferred to Skywalker's flagship, the Resolute. Moving further into the frigate, Skywalker, Tano, Denal and the clones spotted Bane running through one of the corridors and followed the bounty hunter to the gunnery deck, only to be confronted by a force of B1 and B2 battle droids.[3]

As a firefight ensued, Bane used his wrist gauntlet controls to deactivate the ship's artificial gravity, making the Jedi and the clones lift into the air. Noting that the clones had been trained for such situations, Denal advised them to activate the magnetic gripsoles on their boots. R2-D2, however, soon reactivated the gravity and Bane fled with the holocron with Tano pursuing him. Skywalker tried to follow the two and assist his Padawan, but was stopped by a blast door. As he started cutting through it with his lightsaber, one of the battle droids accidentally fired at an ammunition shell, triggering an explosion, as a result of which, debris fell, separating Denal and the clone troopers from Skywalker. Nevertheless, the Jedi set off to find his Padawan and ordered the clones to reach the hangar bay, find a ship which could be used to escape and wait for him and Tano.[3]

The troopers complied and reached the hangar, where they found a Separatist Sheathipede-class transport shuttle guarded by a detachment of battle droids. As Denal and the other troopers engaged in a battle with the droids, the explosions throughout the frigate intensified, and Admiral Yularen told the clones to hurry with their escape. Rex then dispatched Denal and fellow trooper Koho to find General Skywalker. The first person whom Denal and Koho found at an upper level of the hangar was Bane himself, who had managed to evade the two Jedi. Denal ordered the Duros not to move, telling him that he would not get away.[3] Denal, however, was not able to subdue the bounty hunter and was killed by him. Bane then disguised himself as Denal by putting on his armor.[4]

As Skywalker and Tano reached the shuttle and were boarding it together with the clone troopers, Bane faked his own death; he made it appear to the Republic troops as if Denal and Bane struggled at the upper level of the hangar, and Bane was killed by the trooper, his body falling on the floor of the lower level. After witnessing this, the shuttle picked up the disguised Bane, still in possession of the holocron and the Kyber crystal. Thinking him to be Denal, Skywalker asked the survivor if he was able to recover the holocron, and Bane answered that he could not. Because the frigate was about to destroy itself, the Jedi did not return to pick up the holocron from "Bane's" body, and the shuttle departed the frigate, right before it exploded.[3] Alongside the Republic forces, Cad Bane returned to the Resolute, where his deception was discovered by Tano. Nevertheless, Bane managed to steal a V-19 Torrent starfighter and escaped by making a jump to hyperspace.[14]

Personality and traits

Denal: "Why would there be any Confederacy battle droids in the desert?"

Like his genetic template, Jango Fett, Denal stood 1.83 meters tall.[1] He had browneyes and black hair.[6] Denal was an experienced trooper and a gifted leader, as indicated by the many successful missions his squad completed. He was very by-the-book, and as such, he usually did not question any orders from those of superior rank.[11] A veteran of the war, Denal served alongside Captain Rex numerous times, and his proficiency was such that the Clone Captain came to both rely on him and trust his experience and instincts in their shared missions.[1] Denal was known for being able to "hot-wire" a control panel[5] and found himself forced to improvise after R3-S6's deliberate attempts to stall the Republic strike team.[15] Denal considered the battle droids' appearance in the Tatooine desert to be strange, and he grew suspicious of the droids constantly evading detection by Republic radars.[11] After the gravity aboard Bane's frigate was deactivated, Denal was quick to figure out to use magnetic boots and advised the other clones to do the same. Denal was bold enough to confront and attempt to subdue Cad Bane,[3] who was considered to be one of the deadliest bounty hunters at the time.[16] Denal was not skilled enough to stand up against Bane, however, and he was ultimately killed by the bounty hunter.[4] Denal was skilled in combat, recon, and military tactics, and he additionally had some expertise in jetpacks.[1]

Equipment

Denal wore a custom helmet marked with the blue color scheme of the 501st Legion.[1] During the mission to Skytop Station and the battle above Devaron, he utilized a DC-15S. During the latter mission, Denal also made use of night vision goggles and a magnetic cable built into his blaster,[3] while showing proficiency with a jetpack during the infiltration of Skytop Station.[5] His own jetpack featured a built-in missile launcher.[6] He also used a DC-15A blaster rifle in combat.[1] Throughout his service, Denal frequently used explosive[11] and EMP grenades.[5][11]

Inconsistencies

Throughout the wireless game, instead of his own trademark armor seen in "Duel of the Droids," Denal wears what seems to be the standard blue-colored lieutenant variant of the Phase I armor. In "Duel of the Droids," the markings on Denal's armor tend to disappear from time to time, most notably in a scene after one of the droids gets his head torn off. The online episode guide for "Cargo of Doom" mistakenly claims that Denal appears in the episode "Downfall of a Droid" instead of "Duel of the Droids," though the latter episode is still linked in the guide.

There is a notable discrepancy between the wireless game and the television series regarding Denal's rank. During the game, Denal receives several promotions for his performance on the battlefield, eventually becoming a commander. This, however, conflicts with "Cargo of Doom," where Denal takes orders from Captain Rex, even though commanders out-rank captains in the Galactic Republic Army.[12] In fact, Denal continues to take orders from Captain Rex after his promotion to commander in the wireless game itself. Because of such conflict between the game and the series, Denal's rank is not established in this article, although his promotions—or at least some of them—may still be canon.

Denal and Rex on Skytop Station in the Republic Heroes Nintendo DS version

Additionally, there is a conflict between "Duel of the Droids" and Republic Heroes regarding the portrayal of the mission to Skytop Station. In the game, the Republic strike team splits up into two groups at the beginning of the mission and approaches Skytop Station's main reactor from two separate paths. Skywalker deliberately takes the wrong direction and goes to search for R2-D2 along with Tano, leaving Denal and Rex to destroy the reactor. Soon, the Jedi find themselves in Sector AA-23, where all systems are suddenly shut down. Skywalker contacts Rex and Denal, requesting assistance. On their way to the reactor, the troopers find a control panel and reactivate all systems, allowing the Jedi to continue their way and free R2. Denal and Rex then destroy the reactor and set off to rendezvous with the Jedi at the hangar.

The destruction of the reactor, however, triggers a failsafe lockdown of the hangar's doors, which can only be deactivated via two computer terminals. Tano and R2-D2 head to the hangar to deactivate the terminal located outside of it, while Skywalker moves through the station to the second one. Denal and Rex reach the hangar first, fight off several battle droids and prepare the Twilight for takeoff. Tano and R2 soon arrive there as well, and the astromech successfully deactivates the first terminal. Several IG-86 sentinel droids then pin down Tano, R2, Rex and Denal inside the Twilight. Skywalker, however, manages to deactivate the second terminal, returns to the hangar and defeats the IG-86s. Denal, Rex and the Jedi then escape from the station.